Understanding how to invest in HMO’s

It is no secret that the best returns available for investors in residential lettings come from Houses In Multiple Occupation (HMO’s).

This is where a traditional family property is let to a group of unrelated sharers, or is let room-by-room to individual unrelated sharers. This maximises the rent that is achievable since there are several people to split the cost, rather than one family.Why would tenants want to do this?

• Bills are typically included in the rent, making this a really convenient way to rent• Rents are much lower than for an entire property making this a highly affordable way to rent• It’s a fantastic way to meet new people! Most tenants renting in HMO’s are in their 20’s and this age group love to socialise. Not only that Leeds is a magnet for employment for young people. Meeting new people is a priority for those moving to a new city. What better way to do that but to move into a house share?

Whilst we have seen investor demand increasing for HMO’s in recent years to an extent, many choose to stay away from this area. The reasons we hear for this tends to around these concerns:

• Difficulties getting planning permission, particularly in an Article 4 area• Difficulties getting finance• Belief there is too much regulation/a misunderstanding of regulation/no time to learn this complex area• Too much cost to set up the property to be a HMO• Too management intensive• Too much wear and tear on the property• High tenant turnover and or void periods

Whilst these are valid concerns, after years of letting and managing HMO’s as well as investing ourselves, Dwell Leeds have been able to overcome all of these areas through experience and their understanding and knowledge of the market. We have successfully eliminated all of these concerns on many projects and we’re fantastically placed to help others to do the same. This means we are able to achieve some of the highest yields out there for investors in Leeds!

Because this market remains shrouded in misunderstanding and seeming complexity, many landlords avoid it altogether which makes for a less competitive field for the investors that are “in the know”.

The informed investors also understand that the true value in HMO’s comes from outsourcing the “hard work”, time consuming, nitty gritty stuff to a professional agent that really understands this area. This frees up their time and energy so they can focus on the more important things in life. This could be income generating activities such as finding more deals, more time to spend on their career. It also enables them to spend more time on the things they love – family, or hobbies. Our investors leverage our time, systems, knowledge, experience and team. In this way they create fabulous passive incomes for themselves without any hassle. This is the path to wealth creation.

What are the returns?

This varies but generally they can be around double the return for a HMO than a single let. An average single let property in Leeds is around 5% net return, whereas the average HMO is close to a 10% net return (after all costs), although they can be higher.

Does this sound interesting to you?

In a series of upcoming blogs, I’ll address each of the typical concerns to show you how you can understand and master HMO investing.

The next blog will focus on achieving planning permission, which can be the most challenging hurdle. This can be challenging in Leeds since most of Leeds is within an Article 4 area, however it can be done. If you are not familiar with Article 4, this is a direction imposed by the local authority to restrict the use of HMO’s in a given location.